Sources: Center
for Reproductive Law and Policy (CRLP), International Planned
Parenthood Federation (IPPF), World Factbook, US Department
of State, Bureau of African Affairs. [2]

Political and Economic Context

Guinea gained independence
from France in October 1958. Its leader, Sekou Toure, had
rejected a path of gradual independence and autonomy from
the French, the only West African leader to do so. Touré became
a Soviet Union ally and when that relationship soured, he
embraced the Maoist ideology, including the collectivization
of farms. His agricultural policies — stating that all produce
be delivered to state-run cooperative — led to “the market
women’s revolt,” when market women rioted in Conakry. [3] This 1977 women’s revolt led to
riots across the country and led to the relaxation of policies
on private trade and the improvement of Guinea’s relations
with France.

Following Touré’s death
in 1984, the current Guinean President, Lassana Condé, a former
army colonel, seized power. The elections of 1993 and 1998,
both won by Condé, were controversial due to allegations of
vote-rigging. The next presidential election is scheduled
for 2003.

Guinea experienced a
rise in civil conflict in late 2000 when dissidents — backed
by rebels from the neighboring Sierra Leone — launched a series
of cross-border attacks. In June 2001, tensions subsided
and the presidents of Guinea and Sierra Leone agreed to reopen
the road linking the countries’ capitals. [4] The conflict has exacerbated
the refugee problem in the area: as they tried to flee the
fighting, thousands of refugees from Sierra Leone and Liberia
became trapped in the Southern Guinean border area. UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan described the refugee situation in this
region as one of the most serious in the world. [5]

President Condé invited
the assistance of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in
restructuring country’s economy. The efforts to implement
austerity measures have resulted in an improved situation
for a few people, but the vast majority of the population
has not benefited from these measures: Guinea consistently
ranks at the bottom of global quality of life measurements. [6]

Press Freedom and Human Rights

Guinea has an active
and varied private press, which emerged in early 1990s along
with a multiparty political system. [7] Nevertheless, especially
in the context of recent conflict in the region, the government
has tightened its stance toward the independent media. Guinean
journalists experience harassment and detention and have been
forced into exile for their reporting. The Government has
suspended or closed down independent publications.

Article 26 of the 1991
Press Code allows for a charge of sedition to be brought against
newspaper publishers who refuse to disclose production and
distribution of documents and schedules to authorities during
elections, and Article 51 obligates reporters to reveal sources
at the request of the state prosecutor’s office. This gives
a great deal of leverage to the Government in censoring and
controlling the media.. [8]

Failure to Protect Refugees

In 2000, Human Rights
Watch (HRW) reported that the Guinean government incited attacks
against refugees from Sierra Leone and Liberia. According
to HRW, President Condé “made inflammatory public statements
provoking attacks on refugees by Guinean police, soldier and
civilian militias.” This led to widespread looting and beatings
of refugees. HRW documented many instances of rape and sexual
assaults on refugee women by collecting testimonies of victims
and witnesses. [9]

SITUATION
OF WOMEN IN GUINEA UNDER SPECIFIC CEDAW ARTICLES:

CONVENTION
ARTICLE 1-5

DEFINITION
OF DISCRIMINATION; OBLIGATIONS TO ELIMINATE DISCRIMINATION;
THE DEVELOPMENT AND ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN; EQUALITY BETWEEN
MEN AND WOMEN; and SEX ROLES AND STEREOTYPING

Constitutional Guaranties of Equality

The Constitution provides for equal treatment
of men and women and guarantees the equality of women and
men before the law. The Preamble recognizes "the equality
and solidarity of all nationals without distinction of ...
sex." Article 1 ensures "equality before the law
for all citizens, without distinction of ... sex." Article
8 further provides that "[m]en and women have the same
rights." [10] The Ministry of Social
Affairs and Women's Promotion was established to promote the
advancement of equality. The Constitution does not, however,
explicitly prohibit gender-based discrimination.

Despite these legal equality
provisions, women face discrimination throughout the society.
In rural areas their opportunities are even more limited as
social relations are typically more heavily influenced by
custom and tradition, and women have to meet the demands of
both child-rearing and subsistence farming. [11] The
Government has prepared a working plan to analyze the situation
of women and children, which involves workshops and training
for security and judicial personnel, as well as community
education. [12] It remains to be seen whether the
program is implemented and its ultimate impact on societal
perceptions and traditions related to gender roles.

Pressure
to Marry

According to a survey among urban youth
in Guinea, young women — especially those who do not attend
school and who are employed in the informal sector — are expected
to marry early. They are seen by families as an economic
burden and expected to marry in order to reduce the cost of
feeding and clothing them. "She has eaten enough rice"
is a typical parental statement. [13] Many young women
feel highly pressured to find a husband. [14] If a young woman
refuses a marriage candidate who presents himself at her parents’
home and ask them to marry her, parents pressure and reproach
the daughter. [15]

CONVENTION ARTICLE 6

EXPLOITATION OF WOMEN

The law prohibits trafficking in persons,
but NGOs have reported that women and children are trafficked
within the country, as well as internationally, for the sex
trade and illegal labor. Accurate statistics are difficult
to obtain, because victims do not report the crime due to
fear for their personal safety. The Government does not monitor
these practices. [16]

As a result of poverty and limited opportunities
to find income, women and girls often turn to prostitution
to survive. Many women refugees who arrive in Conakry from
the neighboring countries of Sierra Leone and Liberia, find
themselves forced into prostitution for the lack of other
ways to find income. Despite reports of minors as young as
14 years old working as prostitutes, the government has taken
no action to curb the practice. The government does not monitor
or have any plan to combat either child or adult prostitution. [17]

CONVENTION ARTICLE 7

POLITICAL AND PUBLIC LIFE

Women are underrepresented in government
and politics. Four women hold seats in the 26-member
Cabinet in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of
Commerce, the Ministry of Tourism, and the Ministry of Social
Affairs and Promotion of Women. There are nine female
deputies in the 114-member National Assembly. Very few
women occupy senior level positions in ministries, and there
are no women in the senior ranks of the armed forces.
Women play a minor role in the leadership of the major political
parties. [18]

CONVENTION
ARTICLE 10

EDUCATION

Campaign
for Girls’ Education

In the early 1990s, the Ministry of Education
began, with USAID support, a social awareness campaign focusing
on the promotion of education for girls. Religious and other
respected community leaders have been recruited to encourage
parents to send their children — both girls and boys — to
school. Education promoters have been traveling to the 18
most disadvantaged provinces to bring together and mobilize
people from throughout each community — local officials, religious
leaders, parents, teachers, children and young people — to
discuss educational issues. [19]

The campaign has received a strong support
from business, media and religious leaders, who have contributed
time and financial resources to girls' education. TV spots,
as well as a series of articles and coverage of girls' education
in four national newspapers, opened the dialogue on girls'
schooling. The campaign has used radio by broadcasting on
six rural radio stations in local languages, programs encouraging
girls’ education and advocating a change for girls. [20] Rural radio stations have broadcast
educational discussions in local languages targeting community
leaders, teachers, parents and young girls. Business sponsors
have provided technical and financial support. For example,
Barry & Freres, a local food distributor, has included
messages about girls' education on its delivery trucks and
in its national advertising campaign. Religious leaders have
spoken at public events and on the national radio, citing
texts from the Qur'an in support of girls' education. Contests
have been held nationally to create songs and plays that promote
girls' education. [21] Guinea celebrated its first National
Girls' Education Day on 21 June 1999, with well-known community
leaders broadcasting over national radio and TV. Madame Sultan
(a widely respected pioneer for independence) said in her
speech, "Those of us from the old generation who had
the chance to go to school know that that's what enabled us
to understand life, and we have understood the necessity of
schooling children in general, and young girls in particular." [22]

The awareness campaign — along with a major
restructuring of the education system to focus on primary
education — has led to substantial results throughout the
country: The percentage of girls enrolled in school more than
doubled and it outpaced the substantial increase in boys'
enrollment. For the first time since the early 1980s, the
gap between girls and boys has begun to narrow. Guinea has
been increasing girls' enrollment in primary schools by 16
percent annually, and currently it ranks first among all African
countries in the rote of sustained increase in girls' school
enrollment. Nonetheless, the increasing enrollment
rates do not tell the whole story: a huge gender gap remains
in school enrollment, with one girl attending school for every
two boys. Because of their household responsibilities, girls
still drop out at a greater rate than boys, and fewer girls
do well in school. In 1997, only 57 percent of Guinean girls
reached the final year of primary school (compared to 73 percent
for boys), and only 33 percent of girls who took the seventh
grade entry exam passed it (compared to 44 percent for boys). [23]

CONVENTION
ARTICLE 11

EMPLOYMENT

The Government has affirmed the principle
of equal pay for equal work; however, in practice women receive
less pay than men in most equally demanding jobs. [24] They predominate in low paying positions and
do much of the work in the informal sector. Despite official
support for women’s employment, the Government has made statements
that contradict that stance and advocate discriminatory practices
in employment. For example, in February 2000, President Condé
remarked in a speech that there were too many women in the
customs service, and then he gave instructions to recruit
only men for the customs service jobs. [25]

Sexual
Harassment in the Workplace

Despite statements against sexual harassment
made by the Government in the media, the practice is very
common: women employed in the formal sector in urban areas
report many instances of sexual harassment. [26]

CONVENTION ARTICLE 12

HEALTH CARE AND FAMILY PLANNING

School
Expulsions Due to Pregnancy

Schools expel girls who become pregnant
unless they are married. However, they are allowed to return
to school after delivery. Sometimes, pregnant girls search
for a marriage partner to protect themselves from expulsion. [27]

Contraceptive
Knowledge and Use

Contraceptive use in Guinea among general
population is low: in 1992, 6 percent of all women and 12
percent of all men had ever used a modern contraceptive method.
The situation is much better among youth, as about half of
the sexually active, unmarried, young people report using
a modern contraceptive method. [28]

A survey among adolescents in Guinea demonstrated
that only about one-quarter knew that the first sexual intercourse
can result in pregnancy. Asked about methods that can be
used to prevent pregnancy, 70 percent of sexually active youth
indicated the condom, 54 percent abstinence, 51 percent the
pill and 29 percent coitus interruptus. However, about
one in ten respondents cited ineffective methods or said they
did not know. [29] Among sexually active respondents, 29 percent
reported having used the condom, 20 percent the calendar method
and 14 percent the pill. More than half (53 percent) had
never used any method or were not sure whether their partner
had. Rates of never-use were much higher among out-of-school
youth than among students. [30] But even among students the level of information
is largely insufficient, especially among girls, who are more
at risk.

Modern contraceptives frequently are regarded
with suspicion, because of perceived biological and social
side effects — primarily that they cause infertility and enable
young women to frequently change sexual partners or even engage
in prostitution without fear of pregnancy. The condom is often
mentioned, though mainly in relation to disease prevention
or for individuals who do not trust their partner or who engage
in one-night stands [31] .

The menstrual cycle plays an important role
in discussions on pregnancy prevention. But the concept of
the regularity of the menstrual cycle is often misunderstood
to mean that a woman's period will begin on the same date
every month (for example, the fifth of January, the fifth
of February and so on). [32]

Premarital
Pregnancy and Abortion

Premarital pregnancies are widespread in
part because young people have unprotected sex, owing to either
ignorance or a lack of accessible services. As described
above, high premium is placed on fertility and there is a
deeply rooted fear of infertility, which makes young people
susceptible to rumors about the side effects of contraceptives.
In addition, young men may view modern method use as a threat
to their control within their relationships and therefore
tend to oppose these methods. [33]

Abortion is illegal in Guinea except for
cases when it is necessary for therapeutic reasons. Given
the high rate of sexual activity among the youth, young women
are exposed to the risk of premarital pregnancies and resulting
negative consequences, including unsafe abortions. [34]

Surveys indicate that 25 percent of sexually
active young women reported having been pregnant. The pregnancy
rate increases with age, but the rate does not differ across
ethnic or religious groups. Twenty to 24-year-old women
who were in school had a higher pregnancy rate than their
out-of-school counterparts. Of the young women who had ever
been pregnant, 22 percent reported having had an induced abortion. [35]

Young men and women in Guinea consider a
premarital pregnancy a major threat to a young woman's well-being
— a pregnant young woman will likely be ridiculed by peers
and teachers, and may face severe punishment at home — An
adolescent's father may regard her mother as responsible for
guarding a young woman's chastity, the mother may be punished
as well. Despite these disadvantages, many women, especially
those aged 20-24, feel pressured to find a spouse or to prove
their fertility. [36]

Authors of one study on sexual activity
and knowledge among adolescents in Guinea, recommend that
it is important to create awareness among parents and other
influential adults that many young people engage in sexual
activity outside marriage; that pressure to marry is detrimental
to young women's education; that contraceptive use prevents
pregnancies and abortions, and that safe abortions save lives.
Such an effective school-based program should start in primary
school, prior to the onset of sexual activity, and should
go far beyond providing anatomical, physiological and biomedical
information about sex and contraception. It should be gender-specific
in stressing men’s responsibility regarding women, and females'
self-esteem and negotiation skills. [37]

The authors of the study rejected the view,
that is often expressed by opponents of sex education, that
in-school contraceptive or sexuality education programs have
a limited impact because they cover only a small proportion
of youths in need. The study found that students have a
strong link to out-of-school youths, and that male students
in particular are often the first partners of young women
who are not in school. Therefore, well-informed students
could play an important role in educating their peers and
partners who are not students. [38]

Access
to Family Planning Services

Fewer than 100 health centers out of 378
in the country offer family planning services. The Government
supports family planning. The government has appointed the
Guinean Association for Family Welfare (AGBEF; Association
Guinéenne pour le Bien-Etre Familial) to work with the government
on implementation of the national health policy. The Government
launched the National Population Policy in 1992, and the Ministry
of Health was charged with responsibility to draft guidelines
on the integration of family planning in maternal and child
health activities. [39] In addition, other organizations involved in
family planning include national women's groups which facilitate
women's mobilization and sensitization on family planning
throughout the country. The national youth organization conducts
family life education activities through UNESCO youth clubs.
The national workers organization sensitizes workers on the
advantages of family planning. In response to the country's
unmet health needs, the Guinean Government with the assistance
of foreign donors is implementing a vast population and family
health program. [40]

One of the main obstacles to the success
of family planning programs in Guinea is male resistance,
as well as attachment to traditional norms and religious conservatism
in many communities. In addition, because of poor communication
infrastructure throughout the country, some remote communities
have limited access to family planning information and services. [41] Therefore, an intensified
effort on the part of the Government is necessary to ensure
that all country’s communities are reached by these campaigns.

Prostitution
and HIV/AIDS

Women and girls who work as prostitutes
find themselves at a higher risk of contracting HIV/AIDS (prostitution
is an acknowledged risk factor for HIV/AIDS). In Guinea,
where the rate of HIV/AIDS is considered fairly low in general
population and stands at 4.1 percent (1997), among prostitutes
it stands at 37 percent. [42] There is no effort to screen and
target this high risk population for awareness programs.

CONVENTION
ARTICLES 15 and 16

EQUALITY
BEFORE THE LAW and

EQUALITY
IN MARRIAGE AND FAMILY LAW

Guinea has a multiple legal system, consisting
of statutory law based on the French Civil Code, customary
practices, and Islamic law. Customary and Islamic systems
are highly discriminatory in most respects, and Guinea apparently
has yet to address this issue. According to various reports,
the inheritance law favors male over female heirs, and legal
evidence given by women carries less weight than that given
by men.. [43] The legal system and custom also
discriminate against women in matters of marriage and divorce.
Reportedly, officials acknowledge that polygamy is commonly
practiced. Moreover, divorce laws tend to favor men in awarding
custody and dividing common marriage assets. [44]

GENERAL
RECOMMENDATION # 19

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Domestic
Violence

Estimates of the prevalence of domestic
violence vary, but all conclude that violence is widespread.
There is no sustained effort to compile statistics on domestic
violence. Wife beating is punishable under criminal law and
constitutes grounds for divorce under civil law, but the law
is ineffective as police and the enforcement system are reluctant
to intervene in domestic disputes and such interventions are
rare. [45]

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)/Female Genital
Cutting (FGC)

FGC/FGM is a deeply-rooted traditional practice.
Although estimates as to its prevalence vary widely and some
note that the practice is declining, most experts believe
that between 65 and 90 percent of women in Guinea still undergo
the procedure. [46] Except for women who live in the
forest region, most girls in Guinea experience FGC before
they are 12 years old. In these regions, the most dangerous
form of FGM/FGC, the infibulation, continues to be practiced. [47] FGC is generally obligatory for
young girls among the Sosso and the Fulani ethnic groups and,
to a lesser extent, among the Malinke. FGC is increasingly
practiced within the medical system, but many deaths still
result from use of crude and unsanitary surgical instruments. [48]

The practice of FGM/FGC is punishable under
the criminal law in Guinea. Article 265 of Guinea's Penal
Code (PC), which defines the offense of "castration,"
criminalizes genital mutilation and provides that: “castration
is the ablation or the mutilation of the genital organs of either a man or a woman; and that any person guilty
of this crime shall be sentenced to the punishment of hard
labor for life (perpetuite).” If death results within
40 days after the crime, the perpetrator will be sentenced
to death. [49] FGC/FGM is also prohibited under
Articles 259-262 and Article 264 of the PC, which pertain
to assault. Article 264 relates specifically to "wounds
or strikes" intentionally inflicted upon a child of 15
years or younger that result in the "mutilation, amputation
or privation of the use of a member" or in unintended
death. The terms "wounds," "strikes" and
"mutilation" are not defined in the PC. These actions
are punishable with hard labor for a fixed term, or, if the
offender is a parent or other ascendant relative or any other
person having authority over the child, the punishment is
hard labor for life. [50]

Furthermore, the Constitution protects the
rights to life and physical integrity. Article 5 provides
that the "person and the dignity of man are sacred. The
State has the duty to respect and protect them." Article
6 guarantees the rights to "life and physical integrity."
Article 15 guarantees the "right to health and physical
well-being" and charges the state with the "duty
to promote the public health." [51] The
Constitution also states that the exercise of fundamental
rights and liberties must conform to the law. According to
Article 22, "[t]he law shall only set limits on these
rights and liberties which are indispensable to the maintenance
of public order and democracy." [52] Children
are afforded special protections under the Constitution. Article
16 states that "[p]arents have the right and the duty
to assure the education and the physical and moral health
of their children." Article 21 requires the state to
"create conditions and institutions which permit each
child to develop." [53]

Despite all these legal provisions, no one
has ever been criminally prosecuted for FGC/FGM. The term
"castration," defined in Article 265 cited above,
has generally been interpreted to include only castration
of men, despite the provision's clear inclusion of females
as potential victims of the crime. [54]

Efforts
to Combat FGM/FGC

The government of Guinea has adopted a clear
position in regard to FGC/FGM. In 1989, the government issued
a declaration, referring to the constitutional guarantee
of the right to physical integrity (see above section) condemning
harmful traditional practices, such as FGC/FGM. [55]
In collaboration with the World Health Organization, the government
has initiated a twenty-year (1996-2015) strategy to eliminate
FGC/FGM. It is supposed to build upon existing efforts to
combat FGC/FGM through coordination with non-governmental
organizations, particularly in the process of public education.
Some concrete measures to fight the practice were taken in
April 1999 when the government launched a variety of activities
as part of the consciousness raising campaign against FGC/FGM
in collaboration with nongovernmental organizations. For example,
radio programs supportive of the campaign were broadcast with
the financial support of the government. [56] However, IWRAW does not have knowledge
of other activities under the program and whether the campaign
continues at this time.

In addition, in 1984 a group of volunteers
founded an organization called Coordination Unit on Traditional
Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children (Cellule
de coordination sur les pratiques traditionelles affectant
la sante des femmes et des enfants; CPTAFE) to combat the
practice. CPTAFE is the Guinean branch of the Inter-African
Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of
Women and Children, a non-governmental organization founded
in Dakar in 1984. In addition to organizing training sessions
on FGC for traditional birth attendants (TBA) and awareness
workshops for government workers and other interested parties,
CPTAFE has produced four videos and a play, and continues
to develop messages broadcast on Guinean radio and television.
CPTAFE advocated for the official condemnation of FGC and
generated the proposal that was adopted by the government
in 1989 as part of the campaign to combat the practice of
FGC/FGM." [57]

Cultural
Attitudes Toward FGC/FGM

Surveys consistently
show that considerable societal support for FGC/FGM continues,
especially outside the urban areas. FGC is seen as part of
girls’ preparation for adulthood. For instance, many women
regard FGC as an acceptable practice that purifies and socializes
unmarried girls through the education and training they receive
during ritual seclusion. The majority of men are also of the
opinion that FGC should continue. Men consider the practice
to be “women's business,” but many see a relationship between
FGC and their wives' proper behavior. On the other hand,
there is an indication that these attitudes may be changing:
younger women, particularly those living in urban areas, are
less accepting and much more critical of the practice. [58]

ACTIONS TAKEN BY OTHER UN HUMAN
RIGHTS MECHANISMS PERTAINING
TO WOMEN’S HUMAN RIGHTS:

Concluding
observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination: Guinea. 12/04/2001. CERD/C/304/Add.86.

No
recommendations concerning women were issued by this Committee.

Concluding Observations of the Committee
on the Rights of the Child: Guinea. 10/05/99. CRC/C/15/Add.100.

Main
subjects of concern and recommendations:

· the
lack of a systematic, comprehensive and disaggregated quantitative
and qualitative data-collection mechanism for all areas covered
by the Convention, especially the most hidden, such as child
abuse or ill-treatment, but also in relation to all vulnerable
groups of children, including girls, children with
disabilities, children living in rural areas, children living
in poverty, children born out of wedlock, children victims
of sale, trafficking and prostitution and refugee children.

· the
different minimum legal ages for marriage for boys (18) and
girls (16), a practice contrary to the principles and provisions
of the Convention. The Committee recommends that the State
party increase the minimum legal ages for marriage and undertake
awareness-raising campaigns on the negative effects of early
marriage.

· insufficient
measures have been adopted to ensure the full enjoyment by
all children of the rights recognized in the Convention, in
particular in relation to matters of inheritance, as well
as access to education and health services; the situation
of vulnerable groups of children, such as girl children,
children with disabilities, children living in rural areas,
children living in poverty, refugee children and children
born out of wedlock.

· the
insufficient awareness and lack of information on ill-treatment
and abuse, including sexual abuse, both within and outside
the family, and at the insufficient legal protection measures,
resources and trained personnel to prevent and combat such
abuse.

· the
prevalence of malnutrition, as well as the limited access
to health services, especially in rural areas; the persistence
of health problems related to insufficient access to safe
water and sanitation.

· the
spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and its direct and indirect
effects on children; recommends that programmes relating to
the incidence and treatment of children infected with or affected
by HIV/AIDS should be reinforced.

· limited
impact of governmental measures to eradicate the practice
of female genital mutilation and other harmful traditional
practices affecting the health of girls. Strengthen measures
to combat and eradicate the persistent practice of female
genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful
to the health of the girl child; continue carrying
out sensitization programmes for practitioners of female genital
mutilation and other harmful practices.

· high
and increasing rate of early pregnancy, the high maternal
mortality rate and the lack of access by teenagers to reproductive
health education and services. Undertake comprehensive and
multidisciplinary study to understand the scope of adolescent
health problems, including the negative impact of early pregnancy;
promote adolescent health policies and programmes by strengthening
reproductive health education and counseling services.

· the
persistence of high school drop-out, repetition, absenteeism
and illiteracy rates, as well as the low enrollment rate and
limited access to education in rural areas. Concern is also
expressed at the shortage of trained teachers, insufficient
school infrastructure and equipment, and gender disparities
in school attendance. Undertake all appropriate measures to
improve access to education, especially for the most vulnerable
groups of children and to reinforce training programmes for
teaching personnel.

· the
large number of children who are involved in labour activities,
including in the informal sector, in agriculture and in the
family context.

· the
absence of data and of a comprehensive study on the issue
of sexual exploitation of children. Undertake studies with
a view to designing and implementing appropriate policies
and measures, including care and rehabilitation, to prevent
and combat the sexual exploitation of children; reinforce
its legislative framework to protect children fully from all
forms of sexual abuse or exploitation, including within the
family..

· the
increasing phenomenon of trafficking and sale of children
into neighboring countries for work or prostitution; the insufficient
measures to prevent and combat this phenomenon. Review its
legal framework and reinforce law enforcement, and strengthen
its efforts to raise awareness in communities, in particular
in rural areas; cooperate with neighboring countries through
bilateral agreements to prevent cross-border trafficking encouraged.

Concluding observations of the Committee
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Guinea. 28/05/96.
E/C.12/1/Add.5.

Main
subjects of concern:

· unequal
treatment of men and women is increasing, particularly in
the informal sector of the economy. The Committee therefore
invites the Guinean Government to take steps on a national
level to implement the principle of "equal pay for equal
work", which derives from the principle of non-discrimination
against women proclaimed in the Covenant, ILO Convention No.
111 and the 1990 Constitution.

· many
children work on farms, in small businesses and as street
vendors. According to the Committee, observance of the Covenant
requires that the Government implement the Labour Code provisions
prohibiting child labour under the age of 16.

· the
cases of domestic violence against women.

· the
persistent practice of female genital mutilation, which has
serious consequences on the physical, psychological and social
health of women. Women are also among the first victims of
the AIDS virus. Concerning children, the mortality rate remains
high.

· the
Guinean Government has not given enough priority in the structural
adjustment agreement to schooling and education; discrimination
against women is on the rise, which is apparent from the adult
illiteracy rate, access to education and the school drop-out
rate among girls.